Sun Tzu's Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems

Prince Jiao Shi fled to the border city of Wei, yearning to rise again. While awaiting the return of Pang Juan's army, he drilled his troops. One day, Prince Jiao Shi took a few guards to practice archery in the woods outside the city. The target was a straw figure dressed as the King of Qi. Prince Jiao Shi said that the straw figure was the King of Qi, and he fired several arrows, each hitting the "King of Qi" in the chest. The guards cheered.

At this moment, a man with disheveled hair and piercing eyes emerged from the woods and sneered, "The bold make a living by shooting tigers, while the cowardly find pleasure in shooting grass."

The young master sized up the man and asked, "Who are you?"

The man walked straight up to Gongzi Jiaoshi and said, "You audacious man."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Prince Jiao Shi of the State of Qi."

Gongzi Jiaoshi smiled slightly, pointed at the straw figure, and asked, "Do you know who I shot?"

The man said, "That's not a person, it's grass."

Gongzi Jiaoshi smiled disdainfully and said, "It's not surprising that an ignorant person from the wilderness doesn't understand. I shot at King Qi, Pijiang."

The man chuckled and said, "Ha, King Pijiang of Qi is nothing but a pile of straw in Qi."

Young Master Jiao was somewhat displeased and said coldly, "I'm not in a bad mood right now, so you'd better leave quickly. Otherwise, once I get in a bad mood, you won't be able to leave even if you want to!"

The man smiled and said, "Since I am a bold and audacious person, I will not be afraid of your threats."

"Give him a sword," said Gongzi Jiaoshi to the guard beside him.

The guard handed the sword to the man.

"I don't need it." The man didn't even look at it and didn't take it.

Gongzi Jiaoshi drew his sword: "You'd better not regret this."

The man replied, "I've never known what regret is."

Gongzi Jiaoshi swung his sword at the man.

The man did not flinch, but looked at the young master Jiao Shi with a light laugh.

Gongzi Jiaoshi's sword stopped just above the man's head.

"Why didn't you dodge?" With that, Gongzi Jiaoshi sheathed his sword.

"Why should I hide? A bold person is not afraid of death."

"You think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

"You dare to kill, but I'm not afraid."

"Don't blame me for killing innocent people, you forced me to kill you!" said Gongzi Jiaoshi, and once again swung his sword at the man.

The man still looked at the young master Jiao Shi with a light smile.

As Gongzi Jiaoshi's sword struck, the man's clothes were torn open, and blood flowed out.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" the man exclaimed. "Half an inch more and I would be dead; half an inch less and there would be no bloodshed. Truly excellent swordsmanship!"

Gongzi Jiaoshi scrutinized the man's composed face once more, then clapped his hands in praise, saying, "A true man! Brave warrior, are you willing to follow me?"

The man laughed and said, "Why should I follow you? Just for fun shooting grass?"

Gongzi Jiaoshi straightened his face and said, "I'm talking about serious matters."

"Your real business should be seizing the throne."

"Today we practice archery and grass-shooting, so that one day we may seize the throne."

"Can you, my lord, defeat Sun Bin's army of 100,000 with just a bow?"

"I have Pang Juan's support, and he has an army of 300,000."

"Pang Juan is currently engaged in fierce fighting with the Qin people, and it is hard to say whether he will be able to return. Furthermore, even if he does return, his exhausted army will find it difficult to defeat Sun Bin."

"So, you're saying I have no hope?"

"No, there is one more person who can help you seize the throne."

"Who is it?" Young Master Jiao asked curiously.

"Cao Yang," the man said calmly.

Who is Cao Yang?

"It's me."

"You?" Gongzi Jiaoshi looked at him in disbelief. "You can defeat Sun Bin?"

Cao Yang said, "Although I cannot defeat Sun Bin, I can help you assassinate the King of Qi. Once the King of Qi is dead, you can rightfully inherit the throne."

Prince Jiaoshi asked, "The royal palace has high walls and deep courtyards, and the guards are very strict. How could you possibly kill Bijiang?"

Cao Yang said confidently, "With high walls and deep courtyards, it's as easy as walking on flat ground; killing palace guards is as easy as slaughtering lambs."

Gongzi Jiaoshi found it amusing: "Brave warrior, your ambition is admirable, but your words are a bit too grandiose."

"If you don't believe me, young master, please look..." Before Cao Yang could finish speaking, he leaped up and landed on a high tree branch.

"What excellent footwork!" Young Master Jiao couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Cao Yang casually snapped off a branch, which fell back to the ground, and said to Jiao Shi, "Look again." He then said to the guards standing to the side, "Draw your swords and attack together."

The guards glanced at the young master Jiao Shi.

Gongzi Jiaoshi said, "Go, let him know how powerful you are."

The guards swung their swords at Cao Yang.

While dodging lightly, Cao Yang used a tree branch as a sword to stab at one of the guards.

One of the guards, his sword, fell to the ground.

Another guard was struck by the sword and fell to the ground.

The young master Jiao Shi was dumbfounded.

The last guard was also stabbed to the ground by Cao Yang.

Gongzi Jiaoshi excitedly clenched his fist and said, "Good, excellent! Gaining one brave warrior is better than having an army of 100,000. Brave warrior, please accept my bow!" Gongzi Jiaoshi then bowed to Cao Yang.

Cao Yang did not return the greeting, but said to Gongzi Jiaoshi, "Young Master, we should go now."

Gongzi Jiaoshi shouted at the guards lying on the ground, "A bunch of idiots! What are you still lying there for? Get up and come back with me!"

Cao Yang said calmly to the suburban teacher, "They will never get up again."

Gongzi Jiaoshi was startled. He looked closely at the guards on the ground; they were dead. Enraged, he drew his sword, pointed it at Cao Yang, and roared, "You! How dare you kill my guards!"

Cao Yang said, "The assassination of the King of Qi should not be known to a third person besides you and me. If word gets out, it will be difficult to succeed." As he spoke, he casually threw out the blood-stained branch.

The branch pierced deeply into the chest of the scarecrow in the distance.

Gongzi Jiaoshi was secretly pleased. Cao Yang was exactly the person he hoped to win over. He said to Cao Yang, "Tell me your conditions."

"After you ascend the throne, have the story of my assassination of the King of Qi engraved on the four city gates of Linzi, in the east, west, south, and north, so that the whole world will know that you were able to inherit the throne because of me, Cao Yang."

"What you want is too little. I can also give you high-ranking positions, generous salaries, beautiful women, and cities."

Cao Yang smiled and said, "Have you ever heard of the names Zhuan Zhu and Yao Li, young master?"

Gongzi Jiaoshi nodded and said, "I heard about it when I was a child. Zhuan Zhu hid a sword in the belly of a fish to assassinate King Liao of Wu, and Yao Li cut off his arm to assassinate Qing Ji. They are heroes who will be remembered for generations."

Cao Yang said, "What are they after? Isn't it all for fame? High positions, generous salaries, beautiful women, and cities are all worthless. Only a name that shocks the world can be immortalized."

Cao Yang's words made Gongzi Jiao Shi admire him even more.

Ever since the Qi army recaptured the border city, the Queen Dowager had repeatedly threatened to kill herself, insisting that King Xuan of Qi bring back Prince Jiaoshi. King Xuan had always been submissive and had suffered her humiliation. That evening, King Xuan mentioned this matter to Zhongli Chun and couldn't help but sigh.

Zhongli Chun said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand. The Empress Dowager is not Your Majesty's biological mother, so why does Your Majesty show such reverence for her?"

King Xuan of Qi said, "Although I am not the Empress Dowager's biological son, I was raised by her, and she is like my own mother."

Zhong Lichun shook her head and said, "I think it's different. The Empress Dowager cares for Prince Jiao Shi a hundred times more than the King. If Prince Jiao Shi were to kill the King, she would never utter a single word of dissent."

King Xuan of Qi sighed softly, "Regardless of how the Empress Dowager has treated me, I must repay her kindness in raising me. Otherwise, my father in the ancestral temple will accuse me of being ungrateful, and the world will criticize me for being unfilial..."

"I never expected that King Qi would be such a foolish filial son." A frivolous man strolled in leisurely.

King Xuan of Qi, seeing a stranger dare to trespass into the inner palace, shouted angrily, "You audacious madman, how dare you enter my bedchamber!" He clapped his hands twice and yelled, "Guards!"

"Your Majesty, the guards outside the gate can't come; I've killed them all."

King Xuan of Qi was startled and asked, "Who...who are you, and what do you want?"

"My name is Cao Yang. I have been entrusted by Prince Jiao to ask Your Majesty for something."

"What do you want?"

"It is the king's command."

"You dare?!" King Xuan of Qi was both shocked and frightened.

"Of course I dare, otherwise I wouldn't have come." Cao Yang smiled slightly, drawing his sword. "Should I do it, or will Your Majesty do it personally?"

King Xuan of Qi looked at Cao Yang in horror, trembling as he said, "You...do you know that assassinating the king will bring disaster upon your entire family and your entire clan!"

"My home is not in Qi." Cao Yang smiled again.

"Whatever you want, I can give you..."

"I don't want anything, I just want your life." Cao Yang threw the sword in front of King Xuan of Qi. "You'd better do it yourself, so I can see the courage of the King of Qi."

A hand picked up the sword from the ground; it was Zhong Lichun, who had been standing to the side without saying a word.

Cao Yang turned his gaze to Zhong Lichun and said, "There are no women here. If you want to die, wait until the King of Qi dies, then you can be buried with him."

Zhong Lichun smiled slightly: "What if I don't want to die?"

Cao Yang said, "Then leave."

King Xuan of Qi grabbed Zhong Lichun: "Queen, you can't leave, you must save me."

Zhongli Chun comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, don't worry, I won't leave."

Cao Yang watched this scene with great interest and said, "I never expected that the Queen, a woman, would have such courage."

"There are many things you haven't considered," Zhong Lichun sneered. "Wouldn't you be surprised if I told you you shouldn't have let me get this sword?"

"What use is a sword to a woman? If she doesn't handle it well, she'll only hurt herself." Cao Yang smiled disdainfully.

"I'm not an ordinary woman. Before I entered the palace, I was a swordsman." Zhong Lichun said, gracefully displaying a few sword flourishes.

"You know swordsmanship?" Cao Yang was taken aback.

"Regret it now?"

"No regrets. I really want to see what it's like for a woman to wield a sword... Come, Queen."

Zhong Lichun glanced at Cao Yang and asked, "Do you still have any weapons on you?"

"Of course," Cao Yang said.

"Take it out."

"I don't need weapons to deal with women."

"Don't be too arrogant, or you'll suffer the consequences!"

Cao Yang smiled dismissively: "I'm not being arrogant. Fighting a woman is already embarrassing enough; if I were to use weapons on top of that, wouldn't I be too ashamed to face anyone?"

Zhong Lichun scoffed, "You're about to die, and you still have the nerve to be a man... Fine, I'll make sure you're too ashamed to show your face!"

As Zhong Lichun spoke, she unleashed several sword strikes in quick succession. Cao Yang never expected Zhong Lichun's swordsmanship to be so swift and fierce. Unable to dodge in time, Zhong Lichun's sword slashed a long, bloody gash across Cao Yang's face. Cao Yang hurriedly drew two daggers and engaged Zhong Lichun in combat.

King Xuan of Qi watched the two men's dazzling fight intently, and was utterly astonished.

Zhong Lichun said as he fought, "Not bad! I haven't had this much fun in a long time!"

Cao Yang responded intermittently, "Likewise."

The two exchanged blows for several rounds. Zhong Lichun unleashed a series of vicious attacks. Cao Yang was unable to dodge in time and was stabbed in the abdomen by Zhong Lichun. Cao Yang hurriedly leaped backward and threw two daggers at him. The daggers flew straight towards King Xuan of Qi.

Upon seeing this, Zhong Lichun suddenly leaped towards King Qi, casually wielding his sword in mid-air, but only managed to knock away one dagger, while the other dagger pierced King Qi's right chest.

Zhongli Chun embraced King Xuan of Qi tightly, anxiously calling out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Cao Yang took this opportunity to turn around and escape.

Cao Yang staggered out of the Xuan King's palace, enduring excruciating pain as he passed through several courtyards before collapsing to the ground. Behind him came chaotic footsteps and shouts. Cao Yang struggled to his feet; he couldn't let the palace guards catch him, he hadn't yet killed the Qi King. Before entering the palace, he had thoroughly familiarized himself with its layout. He stumbled through a courtyard and entered the Empress Dowager's palace.

The Empress Dowager was still awake when she heard faint shouts coming from outside the palace. Just as she was about to send a palace maid to investigate, Cao Yang, his face and body covered in blood, appeared before her. The palace maid beside the Empress Dowager nearly fainted from shock. The Empress Dowager, however, remained calm, looking at Cao Yang and asking, "Who are you?"

Cao Yang laboriously pulled a jade pendant from his robes, a gift from his tutor, Gongzi Jiaoshi, before his departure. He asked the Empress Dowager, "Do you recognize this?"

The Empress Dowager couldn't see clearly, so she instructed a palace maid to bring the jade pendant. The maid cautiously stepped forward, took the pendant from Cao Yang's hand, and handed it to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager took the pendant, glanced at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "This is my son Jiao Shi's jade pendant! How did it end up in your hands?"

Cao Yang replied, "Master Jiao asked me to deliver this to the Empress Dowager."

"Where is my son, Jiao Shi, now?"

"He is..." Cao Yang felt a sharp pain and hurriedly clutched his abdomen. "Wei Kingdom..." Before he could finish speaking, Cao Yang could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

The Empress Dowager immediately and secretly summoned the imperial physician to her palace. After the physician's treatment, Cao Yang regained consciousness. The Empress Dowager rewarded the physician handsomely, instructing him to treat Cao Yang three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—and warning him not to tell anyone about this, or he would be executed. The physician agreed.

After the imperial physician left, the Empress Dowager asked Cao Yang, "Is my son, Jiao Shi, really still alive?"

Cao Yang said, "Not only is he alive, but he is living very well. He is recruiting talented people from all over the world in order to make a comeback. If he hadn't been so determined, I would never have risked my life to assassinate the King of Qi."

The Empress Dowager took out the jade pendant and asked, "Did he ask you to give me this jade pendant?"

"Yes, he said that as long as I give the jade pendant to the Empress Dowager, she will help me."

"You should have come to find me sooner."

"I don't need anyone's help. With my skills, killing the King of Qi is as easy as crushing an ant," Cao Yang said with a sigh. "But I never expected the Queen to have such high swordsmanship."

The Empress Dowager said solemnly, "If you had come to me earlier, I wouldn't have been so surprised."

"However, I still managed to stab the King of Qi, though I don't yet know if it was fatal."

"King Qi is not dead."

"This is fate," Cao Yang sighed again.

The Empress Dowager said, "Child, rest and recover well here with me. Once you are healed, I will pray to Heaven to grant your wish and allow Heaven to grant my son's request to return to his homeland."

The palace guards searched the palace all night but found nothing. Tian Ji's soldiers also searched inside and outside the city all night, but similarly found nothing. Zhong Lichun estimated that the assassin, being seriously wounded, wouldn't have escaped the palace compound and was likely hiding in the Empress Dowager's palace. However, without King Xuan's order, they couldn't search the Empress Dowager's quarters, and King Xuan was unconscious. She asked Sun Bin what to do. Sun Bin instructed her to withdraw the palace guards, maintain a relaxed exterior but keep a close watch on the Empress Dowager's residence.

The imperial physician visited the Empress Dowager three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, claiming that she had injured her foot and that due to her advanced age, recovery would be difficult, hence the increased frequency of visits. Zhong Lichun speculated that his frequent visits to the Empress Dowager's palace were likely to treat the assassin's wounds. Sun Bin pondered for a moment and said, "Arrest the imperial physician immediately."

Tian Ji hesitated and said, "This will alarm the Empress Dowager. The King is still unconscious. If she intervenes, it will be difficult to handle."

Sun Bin laughed and said, "I want to alarm the Empress Dowager. If she intervenes, she can be certain that the assassin is in her palace. This is called stirring up trouble."

Zhongli Chun immediately ordered the palace guards to arrest the imperial physician and interrogate him severely. Upon learning of this, the Empress Dowager rushed to Zhongli Chun's residence, claiming that the imperial physician had been frequently entering her palace because he had taken a liking to one of her maids. The Empress Dowager took the imperial physician back to her own palace and immediately ordered him to be beaten to death.

The Empress Dowager killed someone to cover her up, confirming that the assassin was in her palace. Zhongli Chun ordered an immediate surround of the Empress Dowager's palace to capture the assassin. Tian Ji said, "Your Majesty, don't rush. The King is still unconscious. It's best not to confront the Empress Dowager directly."

Zhong Lichun said, "We can't afford to be hasty. This assassin is highly skilled in swordsmanship. If we let him escape, he will try to assassinate the king again. Next time, he probably won't fail."

Sun Bin spoke up, "Miss Zhongli, I have a way to make the assassin leave the Empress Dowager's palace and walk right into our trap."

As night fell, Eunuch Jiang led a group of palace guards into the Empress Dowager's palace, claiming to be acting on the Queen's orders to search a suspicious person. The Empress Dowager was furious upon hearing this; she pointed at Eunuch Jiang and told him to get out.

Jiang, the eunuch, said calmly to the Empress Dowager, "The Queen has given the order, and I dare not go back."

The Empress Dowager trembled with rage: "You... fine, if you don't go back, this old woman will die right in front of you." As she spoke, she rammed her head against a pillar, but the Empress Dowager's maids immediately stepped forward and pulled her back.

Jiang, feigning fear, ordered the palace guards to leave the Empress Dowager's palace immediately. After the guards left, Jiang whispered to the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, to be honest, I didn't want to search. It was the Queen who insisted that I search. The Queen suspects that the assassin who tried to kill the King is hiding in your palace."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager said sternly, "She's talking nonsense!"

"I know the Queen is talking nonsense, but the Empress Dowager also knows her temper. Once she sets her mind on something, she will see it through to the end. This afternoon, she summoned General Tian to the palace and said that if I don't find the assassin tonight, I will have General Tian's army surround the Empress Dowager's palace tomorrow and they will catch the assassin."

"Hmph, if she dares to let the army into the palace, this old woman dares to die in front of her."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't say this in front of the Queen. The Queen doesn't believe in superstitions. If she really wants you dead, you'll be in a very awkward position."

"Do you think this old woman wouldn't dare to die?" the Empress Dowager said irritably.

Jiang, the eunuch, hurriedly said awkwardly, "I dare to die, I dare to die, Your Majesty is willing to do anything... However, the Queen is also willing to do anything... Your Majesty, I have said what I need to say, I will take my leave."

After Jiang Siren's disturbance, Cao Yang could no longer stay in the palace. He said to the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, I can't stay in the palace anymore. If the army enters the palace tomorrow, I won't be able to leave even if I want to."

"How is your injury?" the Empress Dowager asked with concern.

"You can walk now."

"I'll find a car and take you out of the city first thing tomorrow morning."

"No need, I'll leave now."

"Will it work?" The Empress Dowager was still worried.

"If you can't get over the wall, you can at least climb it."

"Even if you leave the palace, you can't leave the city; they're still after you."

"As long as there are ropes, the city walls can't stop me."

In the dead of night, Cao Yang, carrying a rope, crept up to the inner palace wall. He skillfully pulled himself up the rope and slid down the high wall to the outside of the palace. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a familiar voice came from behind him: "Brave Warrior Cao, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Cao Yang was startled and turned around to see Zhong Lichun and a dozen soldiers with bows and arrows emerging from the shadows. Cao Yang instinctively drew his sword.

Zhong Lichun said, "It's no use. You can't break through. These archers are all unerring. Just put down your sword and surrender. That way, you might be able to save your life."

Cao Yang glanced at the soldiers aiming their bows and arrows at him, and smiled coldly: "Since I, Cao Yang, dared to assassinate the King of Qi, I am prepared to die! Even if I cannot become famous throughout the world, I will never live a life of dishonor!"

As Cao Yang spoke, he suddenly raised his sword and thrust it into his own abdomen.

Note: "Startling the snake in the grass" is the thirteenth of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. It has two meanings: First, when the enemy's situation is unclear, one should use various methods to "beat the grass" to scare the snake into action, and then eliminate it. Second, one should not act rashly against a hidden enemy, lest one startle the snake and allow the enemy to discover one's intentions, putting oneself in a passive position. Sun Bin used the "startling the snake in the grass" stratagem to find the assassin's location, then startled him into action, ultimately eliminating him. To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter: "Luring the tiger away from the mountain."